A Covenant of Justice (29 page)

The shuttle pilot obviously had less concern for her passengers than she did for her trajectory. She stood the ship on its tail and boosted at full acceleration. Sawyer heard Finn cry out in pain. Nyota and Azra too. Even Ota, in the forward seat grunted. “I apologize for the inconvenience,” Shariba-Jen said crisply. “This will nullify all attempts at pursuit by ground-based Dragon-boats. It will also make interception by orbital marauders extremely difficult.”

“And what happens when we reach orbit and try to dock with the starship—?” Sawyer gasped from the back. “The marauders will surely catch us then.”

He didn't think the robot had heard him, but Jen answered with efficiency. “Again, not a problem. We have no intention of docking in orbit.
The Lady MacBeth
will meet us before then.”

“Say
what
?”

“
The Lady MacBeth
will match our velocity in the upper reaches of the atmosphere and take the shuttle aboard the same way the shuttle picked up the van.”

This news left Sawyer even more incredulous. “I don't believe I just heard what you said. Your Captain has either no brains or no sanity. We'll vaporize!”

“Logic suggests that I agree with your estimation. However, Star-Captain Neena Linn-Campbell has proven adept in similar tactical situations. This maneuver has proven successful almost every time we've needed to use it.”

“Almost . . . ?”

“The one time it didn't work, the blame lay with an inexperienced pilot,” Shariba-Jen acknowledged. “We don't have that problem today. You may relax with a confidence rating of 73%.”

“73%, huh?”

“And rising, even as we do.”

“Why does this not fill me with excitement?” Sawyer asked of no one in particular. “I met your Captain on Thoska-Roole—” he offered. “A real charmer.”

“Thank you,” sad Jen, oblivious to the sarcasm. “Stand by.”

“Now, what?”

“Free fall.”

“What—?”

“The orbiting marauders expect us to achieve escape velocity. On the contrary, we will shortly cease accelerating as if we intend to fall into a ballistic trajectory heading back down to a hiding place somewhere on the surface. This will confuse both ground and space observers.”

As if on cue, the acceleration cut out abruptly, accompanied by gasps of shock and discomfort from most of the van's passengers. Sawyer pushed himself up off the floor, bounced off the ceiling, and pulled himself forward again. This time, he strapped himself into a forward seat.

“Don't panic,” Jen said. “The
Lady MacBeth
has already descended into the atmosphere to catch the shuttle just as it approaches the top of its arc. The whole maneuver requires very precise timing. Even as we speak, I continue to monitor the trajectories of both vessels. So far, you have nothing to worry about.”

“Uh-huh. I don't have a lot of confidence in this method of escape, you know.”

“Oh, we'll get away with it. We did the last two times we had to do this maneuver.”

“Right. And pretty soon, someone will figure this trick out and prepare for it. Then what will your Captain do?”

“Statistically, that should happen the next time we try. And I believe the Captain has already figured out how to use that very expectation to fool anyone who thinks to outwit us.”

Sawyer shuddered. “This woman thinks like I do. How do I get off this ship?” Despite himself, he had to ask. “All right. Tell me the awful rest of it. What happens when
The Lady MacBeth
grabs the shuttle?”

“We'll accelerate straight up again. The orbital marauders will try to match course and intercept us, or at least get close enough to fire missiles or beams, but I don't think they'll have either the speed or the maneuverability to close the gap in time. We have the advantage of range. Stand by.” The robot added, “This one may cause some discomfort.”

“Thanks for the warning—” Sawyer started to say.

Something CLANKED outside the van, outside the shuttle that had caught them. For a moment, nothing seemed to happen, then they felt themselves turning upward, and a great pressure pushed them all back into their seats. It went on and on and on. Sawyer found it hard to breathe, and after several painful lifetimes, he began to wonder how much longer the crushing acceleration would continue. He might have passed out; when he came to the acceleration still pushed him back into his seat, but nowhere near as fiercely as before.

“Stand by,” said Shariba-Jen one more time.

The acceleration stopped abruptly. They hung in free fall for several terrifying seconds. Then the artificial gravity kicked in. Sawyer felt sore and aching all over his body. He felt as if several Dragons had just given him a customized beating.

Shariba-Jen raised its voice. “Welcome aboard
The Lady MacBeth
. Please follow me to the salon. We have made every arrangement for a comfortable journey for each of you. Hurry along, please. The Captain would like to have the ship secured as rapidly as possible before the transit to
otherspace
.”

Ota picked up Lady Zillabar and tossed her unceremoniously over its shoulder. Shariba-Jen picked up Finn Markham a lot more carefully. Sawyer, Lee, Three-Dollar, M'bele, Ota, and Azra, followed uncertainly. They climbed down out of the van, and then out the now-reopened cargo doors of the landing shuttle and found themselves in the large docking bay at the stern of
The Lady MacBeth
.

“Hey?” asked Ota, of Shariba-Jen, pointing back at the shuttle. “We have to return that rental truck before the end of the week.”

Shariba-Jen shook its head. “We'll have to do it next trip. I don't think Captain Campbell will let us take it back now.” He turned around to their passengers. “This way please. Hurry along—”

For a while, the salon of
The Lady MacBeth
looked like bedlam as old friends greeted one another.

Kask, the rebellious Dragon, grabbed Sawyer in both his claws, the closest a Dragon had ever managed to an affectionate hug, and honored him for his adventures in escaping from the Lady's starship. Ibaka, the dog-child, bounced up and down on Kask's great shoulder, demanding a full recounting of the entire tale, excitedly questioning every detail. Robin, the starship's de facto medico, insisted on taking Finn down to sick bay and installing him in a maintenance tube so she could monitor his condition. Arl-N, the tall spindly man who had escaped from the detainment at MesaPort with Sawyer and Finn and Lee, kept shaking each of their hands in turn; his delight lit up his whole face. Three-Dollar and M'bele tried to confer quietly with Captain Campbell about appropriate accommodations for their hostage, the Lady Zillabar—Captain Campbell demonstrated something less than enthusiasm at the return of the Vampire queen to
The Lady MacBeth
. Azra and Nyota, both wide-eyed, stood and stared in amazement. Gito, the high-gravity dwarf and chief engineer of the starship, stood apart and grumbled. Beside him, Arbiter Harry Mertz nodded sagely at the bizarre collection of crewmembers and passengers aboard the vessel.

“I've seen a lot of refugee ships,” he remarked. “But never any like this.” He shook his head bemusedly. “I intend to enjoy this journey. I'll probably get rich from all the fees I will collect hearing arbitrations. I expect to hear the first complaint before the last passenger falls asleep tonight.”

Gito turned to him and said, “That reminds me. Captain Campbell has postponed the renegotiation of our contract again. Do we have legal recourse?”

Justice Harry Mertz smiled to himself at the accuracy of his prediction. “Sometimes I just don't know my own strength.”

Sawyer managed to pull Captain Campbell aside long enough to ask her, “We've got marauders on our tail, don't we?”

“We did.” Captain Campbell scratched her ear as she listened to a private report from EDNA, the ship's A.I. engine. “Two of them blew up mysteriously. The other three won't get close enough to blow up.” She looked at Sawyer blandly. “Don't worry. We have at least an hour before the next attempted interception. I've got to get all you folks settled and strapped in before then.”

“What about
otherspace
? Why haven't we gone into transit already?”

“This close to a gravity well?” Captain Campbell looked at Sawyer as if astonished at his foolhardiness. “Just what do you use for brains, tracker? If we tried anything that foolhardy, we'd shred the vessel.”

“I beg your pardon? You have the audacity to say that—after that little escape maneuver off of Dupa?”

“We only take
calculated
risks,” Campbell said stiffly. “Go take a look in the engine room and then tell me how you feel about
otherspace
.”

At first, Sawyer didn't realize the import of her words. Then it sank in. “
The Lady MacBeth
has a singularity stardrive?! Good God!”

“You have a problem with that?” Her eyes narrowed and her expression hardened. “Would you like to visit the airlock instead?”

“No, no, not at all,” he protested. “I apologize. Forgive me for my stupidity. Perhaps I misremembered what I'd learned about stardrives. I'd heard that singularity drives have . . . uh, sometimes demonstrated a notorious finickiness, a tendency to collapse the surrounding vessel. I suppose that some people get nervous in the proximity of a pinpoint black hole and just can't accept reality of a very tricky piece of applied physics at faster-than-light velocities. I know I have a great deal of trouble with it myself, and I studied
otherspace
mechanics once.” Sawyer began to feel embarrassed. His mouth seemed to have taken on an embarrassing life of its own.

Captain Campbell allowed herself the slightest of smiles. “You may relax,” she said. “I don't take responsibility for what other singularity vessels have done. But this one will not go
fwooop!
any time in the near future. Not while I have anything to say about it.”

Sawyer nodded politely. “I find that very reassuring. Thank you, Captain. I'll certainly feel a lot better about this voyage now.”

“Good!” Captain Campbell patted his arm and smiled sweetly. “Oh, by the way—you do know that I'll have to bill you for that missed rendezvous on Thoska-Roole. We had a great deal of trouble arranging that, you know.”

Sawyer gritted his teeth. “I had hoped we could talk about that. . . .”

Captain Campbell remained smiling. “We just did.”

“Um . . . right. Thank you.”

“Whatever else we can do to make your journey as pleasant as possible, don't hesitate to ask me or any of my crew members. Now, if you'll excuse me—” She nodded and made her way forward.

Sawyer stared after her, puzzled. Had she made that last statement in earnest or had he detected the slightest bit of mockery in her tone?

Damn! But he did find her attractive.
Very
attractive.

Aboard
The Golden Fury
, a bright red messenger lizard came running to the Dragon Lord's quarters with an urgent message.

Sensors showed a freebooter vessel trying to break the blockade. Furthermore, the suspect ship,
The Lady MacBeth
had brought the Lady Zillabar to Thoska-Roole on her last journey; her Captain had since resigned from the Spacer's Guild and (according to reliable intelligence on both Thoska-Roole and Dupa) had sworn vengeance against both the Lady and the Regency. Captain Neena Linn-Campbell also helped several rebels escape from Thoska-Roole, including her own first officer. “We also have reason to believe that she harbors considerable resentment against the Dragon Lord over the recent confiscation of a warehouse of prime pfingle eggs.”

The Dragon Lord didn't need to have it all explained to him. If the rebels who'd captured Lady Zillabar needed a freebooter willing to break the blockade, Captain Campbell certainly met the necessary requirements of skill and rebelliousness.

As the Dragon Lord stumped heavily toward the bridge of the starship, the little red lizard continued to brief him on the situation. “The
Lady MacBeth
performed several unusual—and extremely dangerous—upper atmosphere maneuvers to retrieve her shuttleboat and evade the orbital marauders. She has a singularity stardrive so she'll need to get quite a ways out of the gravity well before she can risk a transit to overdrive. Captain ‘Ga Lunik has anticipated your orders and already put us on an interception course.”

The Dragon Lord grunted. At the moment, he cared less about the fate of Zillabar, or even of the possible interception of the freebooter. Getting free of the oppression of d'Vashti pleased him more. Someday, Dragons would no longer have to kneel before Vampires. He hoped to live long enough to humble d'Vashti himself.

It could happen. He had deliberately fostered the rebellious Alliance of Life, by carefully not targeting its leaders for many years; and as a result, they had taken Zillabar out of the picture for him. Perhaps soon, they would take down d'Vashti—and the Dragons could assume their rightful role of leadership over the Cluster. Who else had the strength to rule? If history taught anything, it taught that strength
always
ruled.

The Dragon Lord entered the command level of the bridge of
The Golden Fury
, looking almost pleased. Captain ‘Ga Lunik even advanced to meet him and brief him directly, a sure sign that the politics of the situation had begun to improve again. “We've powered up, but we have so much more mass than the freebooter that it significantly affects our ability to maneuver and accelerate. Nevertheless, they have to get well out of the gravity well before they can risk a transit. Our best calculations suggest that we will overtake them in ten minutes. We have a very short window of opportunity, but we have an excellent chance to put a tractor beam on them.”